Hoping
by Squibidyflop
Summary: When Hope comes into possession of a unique Artefact, will he be able to change the past he has only just come to accept?


Having barely managed to help Serah and her friend Noel, Hope Estheim was frustrated at the lack of progress he'd made with regards to the paradoxes plaguing the time continuum. He had been able to scrounge up enough information for the pair that they knew where to go next, but he hadn't had much luck on his own end. His newest project - the construction of a man-made fal'Cie - took up most of his time, but whatever time he could spare was dedicated to solving what he thought to be the bigger issue. Of course, it didn't hurt that whatever breakthroughs he made with the paradoxes could further his desire to rescue Vanille, Fang and Lightning. More often than not he found his dreams took him back to those days ten years ago, when six l'Cie had found themselves fighting for the future of humanity against the very gods who controlled them. He dreamt of the Purge, the day he met Snow - and the day his mother died. He dreamt of Palumpolum, where their small gang was finally united. He dreamt of Orphan, Ragnarok, and a pillar of crystal. Some nights he swore he dreamt of Lightning there with him, Snow and Sazh as the sun rose over Gran Pulse. Those were the dreams he never forgot, because those were the ones that felt the most real.  
"Director?" came a voice from his side. As Hope's mind snapped back to the present, he found himself at the head of a large conference table. All eyes were on him, and none more insistent than those of his assistant, Alyssa. Her bright smile was such a constant Hope couldn't help but be annoyed by it. In any case, Hope had been drifitng off far too often lately.  
"I trust that this matter will be resolved without affecting our schedule?" he asked of no one in particular, looking over all the table's occupants.  
"Yes sir," said a man to his left whose name he couldn't even remember. "We'll take care of the issue."  
"That's what I like to hear," Hope said, smiling at the man. He was even younger than Hope, and arguably more determined. He'd have to keep an eye on that one. "If that's all, ladies and gentlemen, we'd best make a start on another productive day!" He barely finished the sentence before he was striding towards the door with the demeanour of a King Behemoth. Alyssa was scrambling to keep up, her arms full of multicolored paperwork that Hope would rather see strewn accross the floor in the form of confetti.  
"Director! Director Estheim!" she called after his retreating form. "They've found something major down at the main dig site!" Hope immediately turned, walking back toward his assistant with similar pace. Hope found that he was much less likely to be bothered by passersby when he looked like he was late for something important.  
Hope stared deep into her eyes and whispered "What did they find, Alyssa?" This was the trick he often used to get Alyssa to spill the beans; she had a habit of teasing him over trivial bits of information, and Hope was most certainly not in the mood for that.  
"I-I-I-they uh... they don't know," she managed to stutter. "They wanted you to come examine it as soon as possible." She wasn't even attempting to hide her blush. It didn't take a man of Hope's intellect to figure out why she was reacting this way, but he'll be damned before he puts any sort of relationship before his career. Well, except maybe for...  
No. There was no chance of that. Maybe Serah and Noel could bring her home, but until then he'd keep working towards the future they had fought so hard for.

Hope stepped into the main tent at the dig site, waiting for the engineers to bring up whatever it was they'd found. It was another hot day in the Bresha Ruins, and as he tugged at his collar and loosened his tie, Hope questioned whether this is really how the Director of the Academy should be spending his time. He took a seat at the conference table and made a quick note to requisition more funding for air conditioning in the tents at the next meeting.  
There was a commotion outside, and Hope looked towards the tent's entrance. First in was Alyssa, who flashed her brightest smile as soon as she saw Hope. Hope was annoyed at her continuing devotion to him, but he didn't mind having someone to take care of all the menial work that his job entailed.  
Next was the Chief Foreman, another name Hope couldn't honestly remember. He'd have to start writing them down.  
Finally, there was one of the 'grunt' workers, presumably the one who'd found it. Judging from his height and build, he was probably no older than Hope. There was no reason for him to be there, except that he was holding what appeared to be a glowing white rock.  
Hope's eyes locked directly onto the rock. He recognized it almost immediately, it was similar to one they had found before, the so-called 'Artefact' he had given to Noel and Serah. But this one was different.  
The light it was giving off was brighter than anything in the tent, and the man holding seemed to be clutching it to his chest, as if he was afraid it would slip through his fingers. On closer inspection, Hope found he wasn't actually holding the object; it was floating in what appeared to be a bubble of some sort.  
"Give it here," was all he managed to say. He mentally kicked himself, and continued as he was carefully handed the Artefact. "Great work gentlemen, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Alyssa, see that both of them get a month's bonus." Hope turned his back on the three of them, holding the Artefact up to his face to examine it.  
"Excuse me sir, there's one other thing." The grunt had spoken up, and just as quickly the Chief had one hand on his shoulder beginning to force the junior out of the tent.  
"Sorry about that, sir," the Chief said. "I'll make sure he learns not to speak out of turn again."  
"No, please. If he has something to say about the Artefact, by all means let him speak!" The Chief stopped pushing, but the hand was still gripping the younger man's shoulder tightly.  
"Thank you sir, it's just that... uh... well when I was holding the... the Artefact, as you called it, I saw a great big... thing! Right in the middle of the dig site! The object seemed to be pulling towards it!"  
Interesting. Perhaps this was the breakthrough Hope was looking for.  
"Could you show me this... thing? Where exactly did you see it?" Hope's mind was working overtime. This had to be related to Noel and Serah's adventure somehow, but the last Artefact he held didn't reveal any structures or buildings, as far as he knew.  
"Sir, it's just outside, down the ramp. You might even be able to see it through the door here." Hope, wasting no time, brushed past the men and stepped into the open air.  
He noticed it immediately. Hope wondered if he even could have avoided noticing it. It hovered, similar to the Artefact, but the light it gave off was ten times brighter. Hope had to squint to see anything but white. When he did manage to see the structure of the object, he realized he knew what it was.  
A Time Gate. 


End file.
